Guide bar control mechanism for knitting machines

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a control mechanism for operating a guide bar of an automatic knitting machine. Guide bar movement is controlled by a stepping motor coupled to the guide bar by a rack and pinion mechanism and operated by a computerized control system. The computerized control system includes a memory circuit for receiving and storing information defining the operation of the stepping motor required for movement of the guide bar to achieve a desired knit fabric design.

Uite States Patent 1 Schur et a1.

1 GUIDE BAR CONTROL MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES [75] Inventors: Paul Elliot Schur, New York, N.Y.;

Peter Edward Gallotello, Danbury, Conn.; Joseph Frederick Keuler, Franklin Square, L. 1., N.Y.; James Milton Carter, Pensacola, Fla.

[73] Assignee: Rome Knitting Mills, Inc., Bronx,

[221 Filed: May I, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 248,849

[52] U.S. Cl. 66/86 R, 66/154 A 1511 Int. Cl.. D04b 23/00, D04b 27/00, D04b 15/66 [58] Field of Search 1. 66/86, 154 A [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,478,543 11/1969 Faninger 66/86 3,446,039 5/1969 Schmid 66/86 Primary ExaminerRonald Feldbaum Attorney-Marcus B. Finnegan ct al.

[57] ABSTRACT The present invention provides a control mechanism for operating a guide bar of an automatic knitting ma chine. Guide bar movement is controlled by a stepping motor coupled to the guide bar by a rack and pinion mechanism and operated by a computerized control system The computerized control system includes a memory circuit for receiving and storing information defining the operation of the stepping motor required for movement of the guide bar to achieve a desired knit fabric design.

8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDBN 2 3.762.184

SHEET 2 (IF 4 GUIDE BAR CGNTROL MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES The present invention relates to an improved guide bar control mechanism for knitting machines and, more particularly, to a control mechanism for operating a movable guide bar of an automatic knitting machine in which the guide bar movement is controlled by a stepping motor.

In automatic knitting machines, a plurality of knitting needles is generally operated in conjunction with one or more guide bars to knit a fabric. The guide bars of a flat-bed knitting machine are movable in both longitudinal and transverse directions and, by movement of the guide bars in accordance with a predetermined pattern, it is possible to achieve a desired design in a flat knit fabric. In a circular knitting machine, the guide bars are circular in shape and rotatable relative to the knitting needles to perform the desired knitting operation for a circular knit fabric.

In the prior art, longitudinal movement of the guide bars of a flat-bed automatic knitting machine has been accomplished by a control mechanism including an endless chain having chain links of varying thickness arranged along the chain length. The chain has been mounted for movement over a roller into engagement with a guide bar actuator. In operation, movement of chain links of various thickness between the roller and actuator results in longitudinal movement of the guide bar in accordance with the thickness of the chain links. The arrangement of chain links thus serves to program the operation of the guide bar.

A disadvantage of the chain link guide bar control is that a substantial amount of time is required to prepare the guide chain. As a result of the time and expense required for preparation of the guide chain, it is commercially impractical to handle small runs of a particular knit fabric design with the prior art control mechanism. In addition, it is a long, tedious process to prepare a new chain link arrangement to change the pattern of the knit fabric.

In accordance with the present invention, a control mechanism for operating a movable guide bar of an automatic knitting machine includes a stepping motor having an intermittent rotary output providing a plurality of predetermined angular positions and coupling means for converting the rotary output of the stepping motor into movement of the guide bar. In addition, the invention includes control means for driving the intermittent rotary output of the stepping motor to selected angular positions in accordance with a predetermined series of instructions to move the guide bar.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the coupling means comprises a rack and pinion mechanism including a rack coupled to the guide bar and a pinion coupled to the output of the stepping motor. The control means of the preferred embodiment comprises a computerized control system for operating the stepping motor to position the guide bar longitudinally in accordance with the information applied to the system. The control system includes a memory circuit for receiving and storing information defining a desired sequence of angular positions for the operation of the stepping motor and a control logic circuit responsive to the memory circuit for operating the stepping motor in accordance with the information stored in the memory circuit to achieve longitudinal positioning of the guide bar. Further, the control means of the preferred embodiment includes a paper tape reader for applying control information to the memory circuit.

The guide bar control mechanism of the present invention eliminates the requirement of a guide chain having links of varying thickness for controlling the guide bar of an automatic knitting machine. The control mechanism permits variations in the knit fabric design produced by the knitting machine to be easily achieved by merely changing the information stored in the memory circuit. Thus, the control mechanism of the present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the previous guide chain control mechanisms and provides an automatic knitting machine in which the changing of the knit fabric design can be accomplished with relative ease.

Although a preferred embodiment of the guide bar control mechanism for a flat-bed knitting machine is disclosed in the following detailed description of the invention, it is understood that the invention is equally applicable to circular knitting machines.

The accompanying drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention and, together with the de-.

scription, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Of the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a guide bar control mechanism constructed according to the principles of the present invention including a rack and pinion mechanism and stepping motor;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a mounting arrangement including four stepping motors and corresponding rack and pinion mechanisms;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the arrangement of FIG. I partially cutaway to show a mounting arrangement including a plurality of bearings for supporting the rack of the rack and pinion mechanism; and

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a computerized control system for operating the guide bar control mechanism.

The guide bar control mechanism of the present invention includes a stepping motor having an intermittent rotary output providing a plurality of predetermined angular positions and coupling means for converting the rotary output of the stepping motor into movement of the guide bar. Referring to FIG. I, the coupling means of a preferred embodiment of the guide bar control mechanism includes a rack and pinion mechanism 10 comprising a rack 12 and pinion 14. As shown in FIG. 2, rack 12 is mounted for longitudinal reciprocation in a recess 16 and formed in a frame H3. The frame is provided with a set of bearings 26) (FIG. 3) located within recess 16 for supporting rack 12 for reciprocating movement. Additional sets of bearings can be provided, if desired, at spaced locations along recess 16 to facilitate longitudinal movement of rack 12.

As shown in FIG. 1, rack 12 is connected to one end of a coupling bar 22 having a bracket 24 fixed to its opposite end. Coupling bar 22 is mounted on a support 25 for longitudinal reciprocation in the same direction as rack 12. Bracket 24 includes a lateral slot 26 for receiving the head of a bolt 28 connected to a guide bar 341 Coupling bar 22 transmits longitudinal motion from rack 12 to guide bar 30, while slot 26 permits the bolt and guide bar to move in a horizontal plane in a direction perpendicular to the direction of longitudinal movement of the rack'and coupling bar. Thus, guide bar 30 is capable of movement in both longitudinal and transverse directions to accomplish standard knitting operations.

The control mechanism of the preferred embodiment also includes a stepping motor 32 (FIGS. 1 and 2) mounted on frame 18. As shown in FIG. 3, the stepping motor is provided with a motor shaft 34 coupled to pinion 14. Shaft 34 extends to a motor shaft support bearing 35 mounted on frame 18. Stepping motor 32 operates by rotating shaft 34 intermittently into predetermined angular positions in response to control signals applied to the motor.

As shown in FIG. 2, the guide bar control mechanism may include additional stepping motors and corresponding rack and pinion mechanisms to control the movement of a plurality of guide bars in the automatic knitting machine.

Further, in accordance with the invention, control means are provided for driving the intermittent rotary output of the stepping motor to selected angular positions in accordance with a predetermined series of instructions to move the guide bar. Referring to FIG. 4, a computerized control system for operating the guide bar control mechanism includes a paper tape reader 40 for applying information to a memory circuit 42 including a plurality of 40-bit registers 44. Paper tape reader 60 and memory circuit 42 are operated by a load control logic circuit 46. In addition, a stepping motor control logic circuit 48 is provided to operate stepping motor 32 in response to signals from computer memory circuit 42.

In operation, a punched paper tape is first prepared to define the desired sequence of angular positions for stepping motor operation to achieve the guide bar movement required to produce a desired fabric design. The paper tape is read by paper tape reader 40 and information defining the desired sequence of angular positions is recorded in registers 44 of memory circuit 42. When it is desired to operate the knitting machine, the information stored in memory circuit 42 is applied to stepping motor control logic circuit 48 to produce control signals for operating the stepping motor to achieve the required movement of the guide bar to produce the desired fabric design.

The operation of stepping motor 32 requires two types of control signals: a first control signal to define the direction of operation of the stepping motor to move the guide bar longitudinally in either forward or reverse direction, and a second control signal to define the amount of movement of the stepping motor required to achieve the desired forward or reverse longitudinal movement of the guide bar for the fabric de- Sign.

The fabric design produced by the knitting machine can be easily varied by merely applying a different set of control information to the memory circuit. Thus, in the case of a control system incorporating a paper tape reader, the change in fabric design is accomplished as easily as the preparation of a new punched paper tape.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details shown and described, and modifications may be made in the details of the guide bar control mechanism without departing from the principles of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A control mechanism for operating a movable guide bar of an automatic knitting machine, comprising:

a stepping motor having an intermittent rotary output providing a plurality of predetermined angular positions;

coupling means for converting the rotary output of said stepping motor into movement of the guide bar; and

control means for driving the intermittent rotary output of said stepping motor to selected angular positions to move the guide bar.

2. The control mechanism of claim 1, wherein said coupling means comprises:

a rack and pinion mechanism including a rack coupled to the guide bar and a pinion coupled to the output of said stepping motor.

3. The control mechanism of claim 1, wherein said control means comprises:

a memory circuit for receiving and storing information defining a desired sequence of angular positions for the operation of said stepping motor; and

a control logic circuit responsive to said memory circuit for operating said stepping motor in accordance with the stored information to achieve movement of the guide bar.

4. The control mechanism of claim 3, wherein said control means includes:

a paper tape reader for reading a paper tape punched according to the desired sequence of angular positions for the operation of said stepping motor and for applying information to said memory circuit to define the desired sequence of angular positions for said stepping motor.

5. A control mechanism for operating a plurality of longitudinally movable guide bars of an automatic knitting machine, comprising:

a frame;

a plurality of stepping motors mounted on said frame, each of said stepping motors including an output shaft providing an intermittent rotary output capable of movement to a plurality of predetermined angular positions; plurality of rack and pinion mechanisms for coupling said output shafts of said stepping motors to the guide bars, each mechanism comprising a rack slidably mounted on said frame for longitudinal movement and coupled to one of the guide bars and a pinion mounted on one of the output shafts for engagement with said rack; and control means for selectively operating said stepping motors to drive said output shafts to select angular positions to move the guide bars to desired longitudinal positions.

6. The control mechanism of claim 5, wherein:

said frame comprises a pair of spaced parallel support walls and a platform extending transversely between said support walls, said platform including a plurality of recesses formed on upper and lower surfaces thereof for slidably receiving said racks; a first group of said stepping motors is mounted on said support walls with the output shafts thereof located above said upper surface of said platform and the pinions on the output shafts in engagement with the racks on said upper surface; and

a second group of said stepping motors is mounted on said support walls with the output shafts thereof lomovement of the guide bars.

8. The control mechanism of claim 7, wherein said control means includes:

a paper tape reader for reading a paper tape punched according to the desired sequence of angular positions for the operation of said stepping motors and for applying information to said memory circuit to define the desired sequence of angular positions for said stepping motors. 

1. A control mechanism for operating a movable guide bar of an automatic knitting machine, comprising: a stepping motor having an intermittent rotary output providing a plurality of predetermined angular positions; coupling means for converting the rotary output of said stepping motor into movement of the guide bar; and control means for driving the intermittent rotary output of said stepping motor to selected angular positions to move the guide bar.
 2. The control mechanism of claim 1, wherein said coupling means comprises: a rack and pinion mechanism including a rack coupled to the guide bar and a pinion coupled to the output of said stepping motor.
 3. The control mechanism of claim 1, wherein said control means comprises: a memory circuit for receiving and storing information defining a desired sequence of angular positions for the operation of said stepping motor; and a control logic circuit responsive to said memory circuit for operating said steppinG motor in accordance with the stored information to achieve movement of the guide bar.
 4. The control mechanism of claim 3, wherein said control means includes: a paper tape reader for reading a paper tape punched according to the desired sequence of angular positions for the operation of said stepping motor and for applying information to said memory circuit to define the desired sequence of angular positions for said stepping motor.
 5. A control mechanism for operating a plurality of longitudinally movable guide bars of an automatic knitting machine, comprising: a frame; a plurality of stepping motors mounted on said frame, each of said stepping motors including an output shaft providing an intermittent rotary output capable of movement to a plurality of predetermined angular positions; a plurality of rack and pinion mechanisms for coupling said output shafts of said stepping motors to the guide bars, each mechanism comprising a rack slidably mounted on said frame for longitudinal movement and coupled to one of the guide bars and a pinion mounted on one of the output shafts for engagement with said rack; and control means for selectively operating said stepping motors to drive said output shafts to select angular positions to move the guide bars to desired longitudinal positions.
 6. The control mechanism of claim 5, wherein: said frame comprises a pair of spaced parallel support walls and a platform extending transversely between said support walls, said platform including a plurality of recesses formed on upper and lower surfaces thereof for slidably receiving said racks; a first group of said stepping motors is mounted on said support walls with the output shafts thereof located above said upper surface of said platform and the pinions on the output shafts in engagement with the racks on said upper surface; and a second group of said stepping motors is mounted on said support walls with the output shafts thereof located below said lower surface of said platform and the pinions on the output shafts in engagement with the racks on said lower surface.
 7. The control mechanism of claim 5, wherein said control means comprises: a memory circuit for receiving and storing information defining a desired sequence of angular positions for the operation of said stepping motors; and a control logic circuit responsive to said memory circuit for operating said stepping motors in accordance with the stored information to achieve movement of the guide bars.
 8. The control mechanism of claim 7, wherein said control means includes: a paper tape reader for reading a paper tape punched according to the desired sequence of angular positions for the operation of said stepping motors and for applying information to said memory circuit to define the desired sequence of angular positions for said stepping motors. 